How to Choose an Accelerator Venture

How to Choose an Accelerator Venture

If you are considering launching a startup, for sure, you’ll come across different roadblocks. Of course, it is up to you to decide how you are going to face them. You can face them by your own. However, if you are not prepared for this, you can learn some of the most important and hardest lessons through business accelerators.

Here are easy ways on how to choose an accelerator venture:

Do your research and consider of an accelerator as a long-term partner

The majority of accelerators will take an ownership stake in the company. Did you know that all accelerators would have an effect in how you spend your time establishing your company? Just as you would pick an investor, choose an accelerator for a long-term.

Forget the rankings - Do not choose an accelerator, which is based on someone else’s statistic and analysis; choose an accelerator based on your specific needs and situation. Rankings could help you make a decision set of possible accelerators; however, it cannot help you select which one. In spite of how good a ranking system of an algorithm is, it is still not able to capture your specific need and situation.<br />

Take your time

Let’s face it: it can be disruptive to you to pick up and move momentarily for an accelerator in a foreign country or different city. However, starting a company is normally disruptive to your life, and sometimes means you will need to set aside your life for a period of time. The fact is that not entire accelerators are the same, and if you’re searching to optimize for the long-term success of the company, you need, to be honest regarding the potential for your accelerator to be the perfect choice to aid you to succeed. Further, based on your business, your accelerator could be the greatest fit. But you need to think beyond your area to be able to make that sensible choice.

Fit is important

There are some strong accelerators, which are good for any kind of “accelerator-ready” business. However, there are also some, which have a tight focus on particular verticals or industries and therefore are ideal fits for these businesses.

Make sure to do your own research. Make sure that you pay attention to how they define themselves, the kind of companies, which have gone through it, what mentors they’ve attracted, how the program is set up, and how they define success as well. How an accelerator defines their program and their own values will tell a lot about how it could be a fit for you.

Don’t optimize for the investment terms

Bear in mind not to optimize for valuation, but optimize for the factors, which will do best to help the company succeed. The same guidance holds for an accelerator. Great accelerators might provide terms, which invest less and take more of ownership of the company compared to others; however, it could be because they help accelerate the company more than the rest. The same with most things, you are able to get what you pay for.